Andy Palacio touched so many people with his music and inspired so much pride amongst Belizeans. This will be a great loss for the Garifuna community, the nation and the world. His music will live on. RIP.

How incredibly sad! He was far too young for this to happen.
RIP Andy. The world is a better place for having known you.

Belizean Musician Andy Palacio Passes Away After Heart Attack and Stroke

January 19, 2008 - Andy Palacio, an iconic musician and cultural activist in his native Belize and impassioned spokesperson for the Garifuna people of Central America, was declared dead tonight at 9pm Belize time due to a massive and extensive stroke to the brain, a heart attack and respiratory failure due to the previous two conditions.

Palacio, 47, started feeling poorly last week and eventually visited a doctor with complaints of dizziness and blurred vision. On the 16th of January, he began experiencing seizures and was rushed to a hospital in Belmopan, Belize and then on to another hospital in Belize City. At this point, most people were hopeful Palacio would recover.

On January 17th, Palacio's condition worsened and he began experiencing more seizures. He was placed on an air ambulance to Chicago where he was expected to get treatment at one of the premier neurological facilities in the country. En route to Chicago, the plane stopped in Mobile, Alabama to clear immigration. At that point, Palacio was unconscious and it was determined that he was too ill to continue on the flight to Chicago. He was rushed to a hospital in Mobile, and placed on life support. There, doctors determined that the damage to his brain function was severe, and that his chances of recovery were slim. On January 18th, his family requested that he be flown back to Belize so that he might die in his homeland.

A national hero in Belize for his popular music and advocacy of Garifuna language and culture, news of Palacio's condition sent shockwaves through the community. At 5pm today, a public service was held in Belize City for Palacio as people prayed for his recovery. Ceremonies were also held by Garifuna spiritual leaders in an effort to help with the situation. Belize is in the midst of a heated election, but the local news was entirely dominated by Palacio's health crisis.

The reaction has also been strong around the world. Until the recent turn of events, the past year had been one of tremendous accomplishment for Palacio as his album Wátina, which was released at the beginning of 2007, had become one of the most critically acclaimed recordings of the year in any genre. Perhaps the most unanimously revered world music album in recent memory, Wátina appeared on dozens of Best of the Year lists in major media outlets around the globe and was roundly praised in glowing terms.

In 2007, Palacio was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace and won the prestigious WOMEX Award. Wátina was also nominated for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. At home in Belize, the international success of Wátina has sparked a revival of Garifuna music, as young musicians have become inspired by Palacio's example. Even in the days since Palacio's health crisis began, the accolades have continued to pour in for his work.

That Palacio has been struck down at a moment of such international acclaim only increases the sense of shock and tragedy felt at his sudden and untimely death.

Andy Palacio will be honored with an official state funeral. A massive tribute concert is planned in Belize City on Friday, January 25th.

Friends and supporters are invited to post messages in memory of Andy Palacio to his MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/andypalacio) as well as to the blog of his international record label Cumbancha (http://cumbanchamusic.blogspot.com/).

tragedy. What a loss. A little bit of light went out in the world today....He will be missed

A true tragedy. What a young and talented man so many appreciated. My thoughts are with his family and wish them love.

We are all sadden by the lost of this great man.

My prayers goes out to his family.

Our hearts are heavy, and we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the news.

Andy, ayó, Da aü.

You’ve been a presence in our home,
Blowing a breeze over us,
Giving us strength,
Opening our eyes,
Making us wiser,
Lárigi weyu.

Kaba fun asana ayanuha Garifuna ámuñegü.
Kaba funa san arumaha o ámuñegü.

We shall always celebrate and honor his remarkable life and work.

tears

Dear friends,

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing away of our
friend Andy Palacio.
Andy died last night after having suffered a massive stroke to the brain
and a heart attack.

I feel priviliged to have known and worked with this truly unique artist.
For those of you who are not familiar with his work, I urge you to get a
copy of his 2007 masterpiece "Watina", which defined not only Andy's
roots; but also his exceptional talent.

In 2007 Andy joined Fatboy Slim for some recordings in my studio. These
recordings show Andy's openness towards all kinds of music, and will
surely forever remain a treasure to me as a unique melting pot of Andy's
cultural background and message, and the "modern" world who had so much to
learn from the message that Andy brought through his music and kind
spirit.

Andy is now singing his wonderful songs from somewhere else; but we will
always be here to listen to his message.

"I wonder who will bake cassava bread for us in times to come. I wonder
who will speak to me in Garifuna in times to come. I wonder who will sing
Arumahani songs with me in times to come. I wonder who will heal us with
the dugu in times to come" (Andy Palacio, "Amunegu", 2007)

In memory of Andy Palacio (1960 - 2008)

Ebbe Weile
http://www.matagrandestudios.com